My Reflections on 2020

I am Sandhya Shahdeo, one of the Seattle directors of FFC.

“The clock is ticking for 2020 to end. Like all of you , I am looking forward to 2021, hoping that it will help erase 2020, as if it were just a nightmare”.

This year was an especially hard year for me. I lost the most influential person of my life, my backbone, my love – my mom. She passed away from cancer in my arms and left a gaping wide hole in my heart which refuses to fill up. I also lost the company of my best friend, my partner in crime and my guide, my sister Shikha who got stuck in India due to Covid and Visa complications. The stress of my own Visa issues and the loneliness of a quarantined existence followed not so far behind.

“However, in retrospect, this year also taught me some lessons“.

• Gratitude for all I have – my job, my health, my family, my friends. 
• Fearlessness due to the realization that life is fragile and everything is ephemeral. Don’t let fear hold you back. Be courageous. Dare to be vulnerable. 
• Love and belonging quenches our soul. True love is nurturing. 
• Creating value for people and the world is what gives us true meaning and happiness. 

“So maybe I don’t want to erase memories of this year”.

I am hopeful that next year will heal the wounds that we have been nursing. But I am more hopeful that we would have built the muscle of courage to fight whatever comes our way.

“I am most hopeful that we will each stride forward and create value”. 

And I am optimistic that we here at FFC will be able to grow a community of people who will help us fulfill its endeavors of conservation through creativity.